Interview October 10, 1980 Interview with I.K.

Boltz Wife: Born: June 8, 1905 Born: April 3, 1905

Harriett Boltz (Maiden name Hyink)

Married June 12, 1929

Tresner:

This is October 10, 1980. And interview with I. K. Boltz, 1205 Newsom. This is Charlene Tresner. Well, Mr. Boltz, shall we start with your birth? I was born in Williamsberg, Iowa, June 8, 1905. We lived there for a while. I was the oldest child in the family. My father was a YMCA Physical Director and then later a YMCA Secretary. We moved from Williamsburg to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where my father was in school for a while. I started kindergarten there. Then we moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where my father was Physical Director for the YMCA. Then in 1912 we moved to Lawrence, Kansas where he was in YWCA work. Then in 1919 we moved to Pittsburg, Kansas where I went to high school. Was your father still with YMCA? YMCA, and we all moved there. And my first year in high school in Pittsburg, I met my wife. And we both finished high school there and she left to teach and I finished college at Pittsburg, and we were married the summer of 1929 and moved to Colorado -- moved to DeBeque, Colorado. Then we moved from DeBeque, Colorado to Grand Junction and from Grand Junction to Fort Collins in 1940 and moved from Fort Collins to Grand Junction again in 1943 and we came back here in 1962. That was when you retired, was it? No. You were -- gone from here, didn't you. Yeah. I should have identified some job positions, I guess. When we were here in Fort -- in Grand Junction - this is identified in this material, I was Assistant Principal to the Junior and Senior High School and left that position to become principal of Fort Collins High School. And left that position to return to Grand Junction as Superintendent of Schools. In 1962 I came - we came back here as the Superintendent of Schools and retired in 1971. And I accepted a part-time position with the Colorado Federal Relations Commission for Education, as a Director. For one year. I'm still there. (laughter) And how many years is that? Well, it was l9 -- nine years. Nine years.

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Boltz:

Practically, in fact it is nine years. And I enjoy the work very much. I work with the Federal legislative process through our congressional people. I represent a commission of fourteen people in Colorado. Seven school members and seven school administrators. This is our job, to keep contact with our federal rules and regulations. Um hum. Now who do you report back to actually? I report to a chairman of the Commission. And this is sponsored by the Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado Association of School Executives. And this commission elects a chairman for a two year term and it alternates between a school board member and a school Executive member. And we report directly to the chairman of the commission. Oh, I see. Whoever it is -- who is serving in the capacity at the time. Do they have a publication -- or a memo or something that is sent out all over the state? We have perhaps two -- three procedures. One of them is through the Colorado Association of School Boards bulletin, where I have freedom of a column now and then if I want it. The CASE -- the Executive's Organization the same way. And then periodically I will send out a bulletin directly from my office to all members of both associations. And how many people would that -- include, probably when you send out a mailing -- what would be your number on that? Colorado Association of School Boards is about a thousand -- just a few under a thousand. And CASE about twenty-five hundred. Most of it is just information about what is happening, and in most cases, they don't respond to me, but they respond to the Commission member in their own area -- the congressional districts. And then that comes back to me when we have a meeting or the commission member sends it on to me. Then, what happens after that is my decision to make. So --usually it means corresponding with some of our congressional people. Or their aides. The aides are very important in the process. The chief aide in Jim Johnson's office, for instance, is Bill Cleary. I don't bother Jim. If I think Bill can carry it on from there, or maybe the next day I'll get a call back from Jim -- so what? This

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works with all people --Colorado Delegation of Congressional People are very, very cooperative. I just -- I just can't believe it sometimes. They go out of their way so many times just to be sure they have the facts. Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Well, that's great -They don't always agree with us. -- nice compliment to Colorado, isn't it.: Yes. Yes. I know many fellows in other states who just can't get any response. But -Why do states? you think we get better response than some

Oh, I think one of the reasons is that our delegation is small enough that, I do, and most of our commission members know them personally. And have over the years. That helps. Oh, yes, a great deal, doesn't it.: First name basis, in almost every case. And when there is a new person going in at the Congress, one of our objectives is to get acquainted, if we don't already know them, but we do in most cases -- know who they are before they're elected. Surely a lot of that is your own effort, though, too, ah, ah, being on that long, is a help, is it not? Yes, it is. It is. I don't know that that's any special tribute to me, but because Well, but it is, really. I try to follow every reasonable confidence and that's important. It is. If I go way off on a tangent someplace, they can You can alienate those people very fast.: -- very fast, very rapidly. Um hum. About how much of your time does this take? path to get their

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Boltz:

Depends on the time of the year. Ah, when a new congress goes in the next session, it -- depending on how many new people are there -- ah, we'll spend I will spend quite a bit of time in Washington, and probably my chairman will be there with me. All the group will go back the first of February to a National School Boards Association Federal Relations Network Meeting. This is a once a year thing. At which time we visit every office, talk to the new people. Not so much about what's going to happen, but mostly about how do we work together. Oh, we mention things that we're interested in, yes. But, then that will come a little later -most of that effort. I'll tell you, it's one of the most interesting jobs anyone could have. I'm sure for you, it is. I've worked --- would just eat that up. I've worked with both state and federal legislation programs for as long as I can remember -- since I've been in the school business. And there's a process there that just intrigues me, so much. I can almost predict what Congress is going to do. (laughter) About every issue, not because I'm influencing it, but I know what little by-plays are going on. (laughter). And some very subtle comment someone will make, that kind of says to me, this is the way it will be. We're not predicting, but it will happen this way . We've had real good relationships. I had the same experience with -in working, you know, Colorado. The Colorado Legislative Process, I was a member of and chaired the CEA Legislative Committee for a good many years and later on the School Administrator's group. It's kind of a carry-on from that. And all the time I could see the relationship between my on-the-job responsibilities and what's going on there. There'll be some benefits flow back this way, and I knew -- just appreciated it. What was happening. What do you feel are some of your major accomplishments? Through these nine years? Well, I think -- I believe that one of the most gratifying to me is the good rapport that has been developed between our Colorado delegation and Colorado school people both board members and administrators and principals. Others. They have -- our people all feel that they have a -- not just a right to talk to our Congressional people, but it's a privilege -- it's a responsibility. If you don't tell them what you think, I think an educator

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they'll never know. And every time a message goes through from Wayne Linton, or Perk Schmelzer or Poudre R-l District, or people like that, it means something personal. Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Who was the last person you mentioned? Perk Schmelzer. Yes. He's with the Administration of Instruction. Or anybody that's in the school district. It isn't just a one-shot deal. It's a continuing operation. Is this a paid position? Yes, I work on a small salary -- cost me more, really, more than I can get out of it. I have my office in Denver, and I have to drive back and forth. You asked me how much time I spent on it, and said "it depends." Ah, there will be times when I'll drive down three or four days a week and work in the office. There will be times -- very rarely, but occasionally for over a week. I was there yesterday. I do a lot of telephone contacts from home. I've learned to do that more.and we have contact with my office there every day, by telephone. The secretarial services are paid or furnished by the Colorado Association of School Boards and I'm in their office building. Oh, yes, and that is where? That's 1330 Logan. House is? Um hum. It's right straight -- right straight across from it, facing on Logan Street.: Oh, yes. I usually park (laughter). So in the Molly Brown parking lot. Do you know where the Molly Brown Percy.

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Have they been housed there a long time? No. Let's see, I think about ten years I guess, or something like that. Maybe eleven. Eleven. Does your staff just consist of a secretary then?

Boltz:

I have a part-time secretary, that's all. Well, there are three girls there who help me with mailings and letters, mailgrams (unintelligible) like that. But they are paid by the Colorado Association of School Boards. It doesn't come out of our small budget.: Does your budget consist of fees, member's fees. The Colorado Association of School Boards puts in so much money a year, and the Colorado Association of School Executives puts in so much. We work on a about a twenty-four thousand dollar a year budget. And they put quarterly payments in. That takes care of all the travel, what I am paid, the bulletin, costs of postage, telephone calls, so it's a low budget operation considering all -Um hum. I told Harriett that I'm glad to get a little bit out of it, but I'd almost do it for nothing. (laughter) Keeps me busy. Yes, I can see that that would be true. So many years I've been involved in that kind of thing - to be able to carry on, and, as I say, I claim no credit for it, because it's -- so many people involved, but I just happen to be the focal point at a top point in time. Yes, but then a good deal of credit is due you, too, you know that is -- is true. So -- well -You mentioned your wife, Harriett, what was her maiden name. Hyink -- H-y-i-n-k. And she was from -Well, she was also born in Iowa, at Alton, Iowa. Could you give her birthdate on here. April 3, 1905. (whisper) -- she's older than I am.(laughter). It make's her mad. And we were married June 12th, 1929. You mentioned to me, that was Depression days.

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Yes, it was. T And did you have a job at the time? I hadn't -- I had dropped out of school for a year -well, almost two years, back -- well two years before 1929, because I came back to school. Went to work in a deep copper mine out in Utah as a miner. And I got to be an electrician, finally (laughter). Went back to school and finished my pre-med work and was admitted to the School of Medicine, at the University of Missouri. But, didn't have any money. Nor a job. And I wrote to the teachers aide, you see, and got a contact at DeBeque, Colorado. No idea where it was or what it was (laughter). And we -- we came out there on our honeymoon, actually. (laughter) Now, did they accept you sight and unseen? Right. And then I --

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And what did you teach that year? Oh, I was -- science, and social sciences and I was an athletic coach (laughter) and then -- small school, only eight teachers, and then -Um hum. Consolidation there, is it?

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No, it is now, but at that time it was just a little part of Mesa County -- one little corner on the Colorado River. The community was divided equally between sheep families and cattle families. Oh. Oh. And that was in the heyday, or the second heyday of the cattle/sheep war And here we had these kids in class. We did -- my superintendent came from from Col -Nebraska. Neither one of us had ever been involved in a situation like that (laughter). But they were some of the finest people we've ever known -- lived in the little time -- real fine. Well, were they obviously at odds? It's interesting -- the families were, but the children were not. Did it seem not to make any difference to them? No, it didnt make any difference to them. families were really -But the

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Well, how bad was the feud between the families then? Well, like they wouldn't speak to each other. Or somebody would be -- you know -- at a house -- a cow family would be there and a sheep family would come, the cow family would leave. Just things like that. Oh, they probably wouldn't belong to the same church. Oh -- well, there was just a community church there. On (unintelligible) was just non-denominational, but they didn't go, any of them. Oh. Who supported it? Ah, well, I said, no one went there -- a few families did support it and they had an itinerant preacher who covered the Platto {Platte?} valley and up to Eagle -in Eagle County and hit little small towns. But, we still hear from some of those young people. They stop to see us. We've had some -- we've had several families stop. And ah -- they went all out for us -- to help us. They really did. And Harriett taught there for a while. What was her -- subjects? She was in -- she was an elementary teacher before we were married for a number of years, she taught in the elementary schools. (unintelligible) and Ossawatomie, Kansas. And then, when we came out to Colorado, she got a Colorado certificate and taught. Elementary school -elementary grades -- the upper elementary grades -sewing, homemaking course, which they'd never had before Was she a Home Economics person? No, she was elementary education, but she's a very fine seamstress -- sewer -- maker of things. What did the community teachers at that time? think about married women

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Well, it was not the right thing. But we had a situation where we were entitled to eight teachers and the school district didn't have enough money to pay eight teachers, but the state would pay seventy-five dollars for every teacher -- seventy-five dollars a month. So she taught for seventy-five dollars a month. And that helped us and helped them. And then when I became superintendent, she had to quit. That was "taboo." And then we moved to Grand Junction --it was still "taboo" for a husband and wife to teach in the

same school district. Though, she's been more important with our family, anyway, and she knows that. Tresner: Boltz: Tell me about your family and where were they born? Ah, our oldest son -- Bill -- was born in 1931 -- no 1936 (laughter). In a little hospital at Collbran, Colorado. We didn't have a doctor in our town. I was it. (laughter) I had the community first aid kit and did all the calls for injuries and things like that. The hospital at Collbran -That's C-o-l-b-u-r-n? C-o-l-l-b-o-r-n (sic). Collbran. Oh, is that somewhere near DeBeque? It's fifty miles. Nearest hospital. middle of winter. (laughter) December. You managed to get there all right. Yeah. Just a little dirt road. Back to Collbran --way back in the hills. From Grand Mesa from DeBeque. Didn't think anything about it. No, not really. Here were people that lived farther away than we did. Why up in the mountains beyond us, did the same thing. I worked on that western slope -- I know too. Then our -Tell me, what's his occupation now. name was -William. William, yes. William Doyle. Bill is with -- is a graduate of CSU, electrical engineering. He went to -- from here to California with -- he was with the Lockheed out there one year and then he went with Philco Company, electrical engineering. Then he went with -- then that became Philco Ford and is now Ford. And it's a Ford -well, it's a communications satellite division in Palo Alto. And he is the Senior Quality Control Officer for parts. For the satellites. Many of the communication Did you say his Right in the

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satellites are products of his division and they use the parts a guy sets over here. Tresner: Boltz: That's interesting. He likes it. Oh, the satellite pictures we saw of Saint Helen's were taken by one of their satellites. And they're doing a bunch for India now, I think. Six or eight for India. And there's an international group including Russia and the United States, and six other nations are setting up constant series -- well -- you know, -- I mean, there's constant observation by communications around the world and there -- this is a government group, combination of governments. So they - I think they've already put up three and there will be five more. Humm. And they'll have this big band and they'll just keep rotating. Yes. That's interesting.

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They'll stand still and the earth will rotate, that's -(laughter). Then our youngest son, Roger, was born here. Fort Collins. '41. I have to figure -(laughter). Yeah, in '41. And I was principal of the high school and Miner Morrill was our doctor at that time. The one over here -- at the hospital. He was born the first day of school right in the middle of a teacher's meeting. (laughter) Do you know Faye Epley? Yes. Faye was my secretary. Remember having her. Meeting in one of the rooms up there on that side of the high school building, and they had glass windowpanes, and Miner was to call Faye and tell her. So Faye came to the door (unintelligible) (laughter) and everybody knew what was happening. It was quite an experience, too. Faye spent most of her life in the schools, didn't she. I think she went in right out of high school, didn't she? Yep. She started in this office up here as secretary to a principal in 1929. I believe that's right.: She ah -- wasn't she in the old building before they moved? I was thinking I saw her in an annual one time there -- maybe a year before the move, but I'm not quite sure about that.

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I don't know. she started --

I thought she started up here.

I know

I know she started up here all right, that would be in 1925. I just thought -- '25 -- '25 - '24 -The high school opened up here -- in the fall of '25 it opened for classes. But anyway, she's been with them -or had been with them, I guess, her entire career. That's right. Always. Yeah. You know there were some great teachers in that high school; I'm not downplaying any -- our present teachers. But you look that group over, I don't know whether you'd be interested in this or not. Yes, I am. But, ah, Mary Tyre, Mabel Johnson, Katharyn Bauder, Otie Reese, Cy {Cyrus W.} Vest, Ray French was in there at that time. Dan Beattie, Phil {Philip} Rule, to name a few of them. Offhand. Very dedicated people. They were. They were in teaching when I went to high school here. I know what a fine faculty we had. It was great, yeah. There's more I should think of, I can't think of them right now, but they were just as important, anyway as any of the others. Yes. Was Ted B1evins still with you then?

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Ah, no. Ted had just been demoted to Lincoln Junior High and Bill Hinkley -- and I think a man by the name of Compton -- there was one -- Bill Compton, Yes. Um hum. Bill Compton. And after I'd been here one year, I asked Mr. Greg Mynere, who was the superintendent, I said, "I'd surely like to have two of those guys back." And Greg said, "Well, one." It really was the school board's decision. They were really mad about something -- I don't know, anyway. I got Bill Hinkley. Oh, yes. Did you take over the problems Miller and their feud at that time? Walter Tatum was there before I was. from Ward

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Yes.

Right there.

And before I was administration officer, Superintendent.Greg Mynere came as a Superintendent and then I -- he was -- he selected me to come in as high school principal. I was scared to death. I was teaching at the University of Colorado that summer. Working on my doctorate. What were you teaching? Well, school law and school finance, and I was taking courses -- related courses from the Graduate School at the same time. And changing at jobs and everything -pretty rugged. Well, I'd think so. Harriett was Bill, and we had a very limited budget. lived on a dollar a day -- plus -- that was food. Yes. A dollar a day, the three of us. It's hard to believe now, but we did, didn't we. Yeah. Well, did you really inherit quite a though, at that time? Or was there straighten out, actually? few problems, very much to We

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Really not. That staff was ready to get together and do something about it All they wanted was an opportunity to do it. And not have any feuding. And I didn't -there wasn't any big problem. (End of Side 1, Tape 1). I don't really remember any others except the three who were told not to be there, I wouldn't have known them anyway. But, they just really got it together. We had a few students who couldn't understand for a while, but it worked it -- didn't take long to handle that. Did you ever hear them talk about the sneak day that the class of 37 took? That is supposed to have really been the start of the problems, between the school board and Mr. Tatum. Did you ever hear that discussed. I don't think. I don't recall, if I did. I must have -

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I was in the class of '37. (laughter). I must have know something about it.:

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They'd always given us a sneak day. They decided not to give it to us that year, but we decided to take it anyway. And there was quite a little feuding and fussing going on, and they weren't going to let any of us graduate. But of course, that went by the wayside, but it started a big thing. You know how a little fire is kindled with a match sometimes, and becomes a really big thing. And that's what I had heard. It could well be, but I just don't recall that. Probably you weren't aware of that at all. As I told you, I was scared to death. I was trying to find out a way to get -- get that school going, and I wasn't interested in their past problems. Yes, well you had plenty at the present. And I -- (chuckle). So I -- it worked out fine. Well, we didn't finish about Roger, what he does now. Well, Roger is a dentist. He has his practice in Windsor. Recent -- fairly recently moved from Fort Collins and lives down at Boyd Lake Shores now. Oh, yes. Um hum.

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He went to Northwestern. Its something rather interesting happened to him -- about him, anyway. He was a student at Grand Junction Junior College, its called Mesa College -- Mesa Junior College at that time. And he was in his sophomore year, president of his class, and Northwestern University decided they would take two junior college graduates into their dental school. Other than that, it was a Bachelors degree. And he applied and got it. And I think there were maybe three other dental schools in the United States tried it first that year. And then they were getting so many, they dropped them in about three years, I think. Not because of the students, but because of the complaints of the graduate students who couldn't get in. (laughter). There were some of them standing on the back burner, and all of a sudden, a junior college youngster would come in. So then he joined the Navy Reserve while he was in school and he served, after he graduated, he served two years in the Philippines, during the Korean Conflict. Then he served a year and a half in California, still in the Navy Reserve Training - Naval Officers to go across -- what their duties would be. Then he came back here and Woodward Governor was

just starting their -- organizing their dental clinic and I guess Dr. Fred Humphrey and two or three other people talked to Roger and then Roger went there for a year and a half, almost two years and set up their dental clinic practice, and then he decided he wanted to go out on his own, so went to Windsor. It was about the time Kodak was starting to move in there, and he figured there would be some pretty fine -- And he lives at Boyd Lake Shores and they have two children. Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Did they build a new home? No, they bought one -- from somebody. Did he marry somebody from here? No. He was -- she was in school at Northwestern in nursing and he met her. She's from Illinois --Lincoln, Illinois. And then they were married a year ahead of their graduation -- her graduation and his -- she graduated from Nursing Education. Roger in Dentistry -they were married the year before they graduated, as I said. Does she follow her profession at all, or --? Not very much. She does some at McKee Medical. Just general duty and special duty. She's just been raising a family -- I say "just" that's pretty hard to do. That's right. (laughter) So. I wanted to mention Boltz Junior High and the naming and so on -- will you relate the sad accident that happened to it before they got open. I don't recall the date involved. Well, let's see, the school board bulletin here says in 1972 it was being built. And burnt to the ground there. You remember at that time -- just prior to that -- maybe two months or maybe three months apart, first there was a big fire up on Horsetooth. A big eating place. Then one on South College~ Yes. And then Boltz Junior High school, which I supposed, was ninety percent completed at that time. Just those three fires, just so many months apart. And right down in that area.

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Did they ever connect them at all, then? Not to my knowledge. They did feel it was arson, didn't they. Oh yes, in all three cases it was strong suspicion of arson. One of the fellows told me -- about the junior high. It was man-made and man-assisted. It spread so rapidly, it had to have -- had to have somebody. But I thought that the naming of the school was something. And I begin -- you know that story --I suppose. Perhaps I do, but let's put it on tape. Okay. I'm a little bit vague about this. The story -someplace in mythology the story of the phoenix bird was burned and rose from the ashes to live again. Yes. And, to the best of my knowledge, the idea of the phoenix bird came from the students. Not from an adult. That's interesting. Although that -- I don't -- I was told that. And I thought that showed some pretty good thinking on the part of some children. I think so too. They -- shortly after that happened, I was in Washington attending an aerospace meeting and a man who was with the Federal Aviation Agency took me over to the Kennedy Center for lunch. And showed me the new -- new gift that had been given to the Kennedy Center, and I believe it was from the Italian Government, of the Phoenix Bird. And the art teacher out here, who was trying to find out -- excuse me -- (tape turned off) -- Don't put this part of it in. (laughter). Well, it's going. Somebody had figured out what a phoenix bird would look like and the art teacher at Boltz Junior High School didn't know either, and he was trying to get a design of some kind, so this is his concept, so I saw this thing back there which I couldn't understand at all, and when I came back, the young man asked me, "Now, does this look like something like the phoenix bird back there?" And I didn't have the heart to tell him I -- "I think so pretty much." This was a tremendous futuristic type

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thing and I couldn't see any design on it really. means more to me. Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz:

This

Well, since it's a mythical bird, it is a little hard to picture. Isn't it? Yes. I wonder, is there a statue in Europe somewhere that an artist conception of the way it really did look? As I -- I understand it, the man was commissioned by the government to design the phoenix bird and -Oh, yes. And the idea behind it burned to the ground, visibly. That was the good as any, don't you was here was a great man that was and his memory has come back -idea. Well, so I guess that's as think.

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Yes, I think that story is very interesting of that came to -- I notice that the man who designed this is mentioned here. I believe he was on the -- in the schools. He -- he was the art teacher there in that building. And I don't remember his name. Well, anyway lets talk a little bit about this Bellringer Award that you received in 1971 from National Congress Aerospace Education. Would you tell us a little about that. Well, our oldest boy was in high school. He had a -well he got interested in aviation and joined the Civil Air Patrol. And he was all wrapped up in it. And aviation had never been an interest of mine, except as soon as he got interested, I just had to believe that it was necessary for us to be a part of what he was doing. So I got interested. And he went through the Civil Air Patrol. And I got interested in the National Aviation Education Council -dealing with schools and instruction in aviation interests -- including the Civil Air Patrol. And finally, Bill was flying and he had a commercial pilot's license and I was appointed to the board of directors for the National Aviation Council. Strictly an Aviation Education Group. All states are represented. Then, oh, about the time he became the commercial pilot, a little after that, about a year or two, I was elected to the Presidency of the National Aviation Council out

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of Washington. And then, while I was president, we changed to the National Aerospace Education Council. And then I served in that capacity and represented the United States for a couple of years and a couple of meeting times and then the Federation International -Aeronautic International -Federation Aeronautic Internationale -- which is a group composed of all the aerospace and aviation education groups around the world. And the meetings were held in Paris. I represented our group. It was a combination of the Aeronautic Association -- represented even -- and Federal Aviation Agency and National Aviation Association, and government group at this meeting. We exchanged ideas on aviation and aerospace education in the schools. There were about forty people at each meeting plus all the interpreters. Which made a lot of noise (laughter). Well, I sat at one end of a conference table, about forty feet long -- a big old conference table and the Russian General at the other end -- these were the two figures. See. Everything else was built around that. Not me, but the United States and Russia. And we had opportunities to discuss our own programs and I had a little conflict with our friend from Russia over some issues (laughter). And the word got back to our own group about it, and it wasn't anything bad, we just disagreed, that's all. And here were all these people sitting around with their interpreters and some of the interpreters were doing what they called "simultaneous" and other interpreters, "periodic". They were new terms to me. And I didn't have an interpreter with me, because most of the people from these other countries were bilingual -- or multilingual, or something. So, they just tried to give a thirty minute report or an hour report and it would take a long time, because some of these people were interpreting all the time. Just word by word and others, every minute or so the hand would go up and you'd have to stop. And I was asked to go back the second year and do the same thing, but Russian General had changed -- a new one (chuckle) . They were having a lot of fun over that -- "Did you run him off," or something like that. And I sat beside this guy -- each of them at lunch that day, one day -- and he spoke English as well as I do, or better, probably. The first one. The second one was not quite so good at it. But, he would -- they would stop me when I would talk so his interpreter could tell him what I was saying. What he was doing, I decided afterwards, was that he was -wanted to think over before he talked. He wanted to think about it, so he'd ask his interpreter to -(laughter).

So we had -- that was quite an experience, because I've had opportunities from all over the United States and -Europe -- for instance, the Apollo VIII flight -- Frank Borman was the CO on that flight. And I had a chance to introduce Frank Borman in -- to a meet -- to a meeting in Washington when he was still a captain in the Air Force and no one have any idea that he'd go where he is. So by gosh, when he got ready to go up on that date, he sent me an invitation to go -- I was right out in the VIP area. Just pure luck -- absolute luck. So that was quite an experience. That kind of it -- that part of it. Tresner: Boltz: Tresner: Boltz: Yes, could you explain just exactly what the Bellringer Award was -- was a particular presentation now? Let's see if I've got a date on it in here any place. Well, '71 is the date they give here. Is that correct?

Yeah. Okay. That was service. Long time service to the organization and an outgoing officer and board member, at which time all these other visits and recognitions were mentioned. Did you get a plaque? Yes, un hum. A statue? Well, it's a plaque, I think. While we are talking about awards here, we might mention this Colorado Vocational Education Hall of Fame, August 7th, 1980. And ah, where was that presentation? Here at CSU, at the annual Colorado Vocational Association Meeting. One each summer. And that's about a four or five day meeting, and they have various divisions of the Vocational Association here -- it's automechanics, and agriculture people, and so on. It was (chuckle) a real surprise. I want to show you something interesting to me. This fellow, Herb Benson -- well, the two of us graduated in college in the same class, the same year. Is that right? Two of us -From different institutions?

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No, the same school. Same school. Oh.

We were classmates.

Pittsburg, Kansas. Well, that is quite interesting. Unusual. You were saying that this was a surprise to you? Well, Pauline McKean told me -- she called me and asked me if you could talk about background one day, and I was getting ready to go to Colorado Springs for a meeting and she -- we talked awhile, and she said in the beginning what this is for, do you? I said, "No." And she said, Its the Colorado Vocational Association Hall of Fame." And that didn't mean anything to me. I didn't know what it was. Well, that's all I knew. But, when we got over there that day, we found out it was a fifty year period, and so on -- And the Colorado Vocational Association -- they give awards every year at the meeting -- like to CEA members. But this is significant to me -- I know or knew every one of these people personally, except Emily Griffith. But I'd worked along with these people. This was my supervisor the year I taught.: Yeah. I remember the first visit she made from the State Department. To our school in DeBeque. And we talked about it -- that night, over here. We were establishing a new Home Ec. Department and she came over to help us. Were you vocational from the very first? No. Just believe in it. background was science and -Always have. But my

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Yes, but what I meant was, was your Vocational Education from the start?

program

under

No. We got some help, some supervisory help, mostly. From the State Department -- Vocational Department. I don't think the first few years we ever got any money from the State. For that. There were certain standards there that had to be met. Physical, I think, mostly, weren't they?

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Yes. We didn't have -- we just didn't have physical facilities for our -- but with their help -- with her help and then Lucille Fies, later on, we got going. We didn't mention that theres a street named for you, too. Ah -- did that happen before the school or afterward? (laughter) You know, Les {Leslie G.} Everitt is responsible for that. Oh, un huh. Well, that subdivision, really. They bought the land from her -- Spencer, and the School Board -- when we were over at the banquet -- the Retirement Banquet, the president of the Board, Ward Fischer, announced that there would be a Boltz Junior High, which we didn't know anything about. We were just floored. And in two or three days, Les Everitt called me and said, "Now we're going to name that street in front of the building, 'Boltz Drive,' if it's all right." (laughter) I think the original plan was that was to be Herb Spencer Street. But that was before the school was named, so they did some changing, plotting, and put the Spencer name another place which was all right with Herb. Yes. Um hum. Kind of makes sense to me . The street to have the same name as the school. Really. Yes, yes, I think that is a good idea. Then we went out to the dedication -- ground breaking ceremony. We waited awhile. Les didn't show up. Until it was all over. Now, that was Les who? Les Everitt. Yeah.

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He blamed it on to Gary Haxton. the wrong time. (laughter)

He said Gary gave him

Then there was a dedication after the -After the building was opened. After the second school was built, wasn't it. Right, right. Was that in the fall of that year? they finally got that finished? That was '74 when

It was over -- it was after -- it wasn't during the first year of the operation of the building. Let's see. "Had ceremony and tours of the new building on Sunday, December 2, 1973." But they opened in '72. Right. It took them less than a year, did it, to get that built again. No. It took a year I'm sure. The dedication must have been open in '73, then -- the Dedication. Then in the middle -- later in the year. Did they have a picture building at that time. Yes. Un huh. of you to install in the

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Um huh. Do you think of any other points that we have left out? No. I don't think of anything I -- I think really one of the most gratifying areas of operation I've had has been Occupational Education and Vocational Education. Just seem to have seen so many youngsters who were at absolutely loose ends, all of a sudden find something. This town is full of young people -- and other places -now you hear of statewide, of young people who had -they didn't know what to do when they finally picked up some skills. I'm proud of the academic students, too. But some of these other youngsters who didnt have a way to go anyplace. And then to see some of them -- coming back -- just like coming to Graduate School -- CSU -when they've gone out to Voc. Tech Center, or one of the Tech Centers in the State of Colorado. Way back in the early days, in 19 -- in the 1940's we had a man in the

state department, Vocational Department of Education, by the name of Harry Tieman. His picture's in here. And we were living in Grand Junction at that time -- I was superintendent. And we had one legislator with us, a man by the name of Cheever, from Colorado Springs, whose brother was mayor, City Manager here at one time. We presented to the Legislature a proposition for Colorado area vocational schools. And Senator Cheever was helping us get someplace with it, and he passed away. And then Harry Tieman got into difficulty with his board, and it kind of dropped by the wayside. But we had plans for area vocational trade schools based on population count and so on, like -- a Senatorial District, or Congressional District, Legislative District. Tresner: Boltz: Did you mention the date about then when you were -your first plans? Well, this particular study was done in 19 -- must have been 1947. It could have been six or eight. But that was -Right around there, um hum. Yeah. There was a statewide committee. I wasn't the only one. I just happened to be appointed chairman of it. But we had a statewide group of school administrators who had the same dedication to get something to happen. But how long fruition? was that before it finally came to

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Well, it's only been within about the last fifteen years that there's been a real statewide coverage. There have been sporadic operations -- but there's been a growth all the time, since that time. Local School District at Grand Junction -- at least we had one. Worked it out in combination with Mesa College and it is as much their credit as it is ours. But we got together and got something going. And there was -- the difficulty with that was that high school students from Delta and Montrose and other places couldn't come to it because it was financed by a local school